Dark Nights
by JAZZIES-GIRL
Summary: Hermione's parents are dead but they're not really her parents. Who is her real father and what is he hiding from her? Creaturefic
1. Chapter 1:Snape!

A/N: Here's my newest attempt at a story. It's based around vampires so I'm hoping I'll do better with this than a few of my other ones.

This does not follow any of the books really. Sirius isn't dead and neither is Dumbledore or anyone else that I like…

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Disclaimer: I wish I owned this but then it'd be centered around vampires instead of magic…

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I sighed in disappointment as I stared at the silhouetted castle in the distance. Harry and Ron pulled my arm and boarded the train, calling for me to hurry up. Just as I stepped foot on the Hogwarts Express calls of, "Miss Granger!" caught my attention and I turned around. Professor McGonagall and Professor Snape were rushing down the path to the boarding platform.

"Miss Granger," the head of Gryffindor House panted as she reached me, "you must come with us."

With my mind flying through reasons that I'd be pulled from the train I followed my two professors up to the Headmaster's Office.

"Is something wrong Headmaster?" I asked as I saw that the usual twinkle in his blue eyes was absent.

Professor Dumbledore sighed and leaned in towards me. "Hermione, we have come across some most unfortunate news. It seems as if the Death Eaters have taken to randomly killing Muggle families and-" My ears buzzed, blocking out his following words. I didn't want to hear whatever he had to say next.

Eventually I returned to my senses and whirled on Professor Snape. "This is all your fault!" I screamed at the man. "How could you let this happen to them? You're supposed to be on our side!"

The Potion's Master caught me by the wrists as I started swinging at him. "Believe me Miss Granger, I had no idea that this was going to happen or I would have done everything possible to keep them safe."

"Why do you even care?" My mind was beyond logic and all I needed was a way to vent my anger and depression.

"Because I am indebted to the Grangers." The dark man said softly. "Not long before you were born they took my wife in their protection while she was sick. Not long after you born she died in their care."

"That gives you every right to go after them." I argued.

"That gives me even more right to keep them safe seeing as they were taking care of my daughter for me. Raising her to be a respectable young lady while I remained in the Dark Lord's service."

I stared up at him blankly while his statement sunk in. As my mind processed it I turned to the Headmaster and he nodded. "But that means I'm a…" I trailed off and looked up at my 'father'.

"A Snape." He finished for me and I nodded. "I wasn't going to tell you until it was closer to your sixteenth birthday but as the Grangers died I'm taking you to live with me."

All the shocking new information stored in my brain became too much and I fainted on the spot.

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A/n: I know it's short but it's just leading up to the story. Any guesses on what the importance of her seventeenth birthday is?

Also vote for what pairing you want this to be. My only limits are that it's a male her age, (age limit: bill weasley's age and no one younger than her.) and that it can't be ron...i despise ron/hermione pairings.


	2. Chapter 2: Halfling?

A/N: This chapter is dedicated to the first reviewer for this story, bianca-the-pirate. Thank you all so much for your reviews, current results will be posted at the bottom. I don't own Harry Potter.

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"Hermione," Professor Snape, I refused to acknowledge that he was my father, called through the door, "please come out of your room. You're going to die of starvation if you stay in there any longer."

My stomach rumbled loudly as I thought of all the food I was missing out on and I glared at my midsection for betraying my hunger. I stood from my seat on my queen sized bed covered in royal blue sheets and walked to the door. "Will you bring me food?" I cringed at how pathetic my voice sounded.

"Not until you leave your room." He said sternly and I could hear his foot tapping.

I stared at the doorknob for a long while before I grabbed it with a pale hand. In fact, I thought as I stared at the hand, it looked paler than usual. 'It's just because I've been locked up in this room for the past five days.' I told myself and turned the handle.

Professor Snape gave me a grim half smile before leading me towards the kitchen. "Is there anything specific you would like?" He asked as I sat down at the table.

"Just a ham sandwich." I said quietly, staring at my hands which sat in my lap. As Professor Snape was preparing my sandwich I looked around the kitchen. It wasn't very large but it had a nice homey feel to it. From my seat at the table I could see into the sitting room where a large fire roared. A couch was placed on each side of the marble fire place, one a navy blue, almost black, and the other a rich golden color.

"Here's your lunch." Professor Snape said and set the plate down in front of me. I stared down at it and suddenly realized that it was not what I was hungry for.

"Um, Professor," my voice was weak, timid, "I'm not really hungry anymore." But even as I said the words my stomach growled.

"Are you sure about that?" He raised an eyebrow at me.

"Well, I'm hungry; I just don't want a ham sandwich anymore. I'm sorry I had you make it for me." I blushed and turned my eyes towards my lap again.

"Don't worry about it. What are you hungry for?" His question, although expected, caught me off guard. As I thought about it I had no idea what in fact I was hungry for. The thought of any kind of food made me nauseous but my stomach rumbled loudly again. Suddenly Professor Snape said, "I think I have just the thing." He rummaged around in one cabinet before moving to another and pouring something behind the door where I couldn't see. He returned to the table with a bottle but I couldn't see what was inside it. I sniffed the top and found that it had an appealing aroma. Without any more hesitation I brought the bottle to my mouth and took long gulps of the sweet, thick liquid.

When the bottle had emptied I looked back up at the dark man. "What was that?"

The professor looked hesitant before saying, "Before I tell you there are a few things about myself that you need to know." He led me to a small room that held so many books my head spun trying to take them all in. He motioned for me to sit in the sole armchair as he leaned against a shelf.

"When I was not much older than you," he began, a faraway look settling in his dark eyes, "my parents took me into our sitting room and told me a story not much unlike the one I'm about to tell you but first I must ask you a question. How much do you know about vampires?"

"Not much." I admitted. We had studied them for a while in third year but it was nothing more than the myths I had known said. "They don't like sunlight, garlic repels them in extremely high quantities but holy water does nothing, and nothing but blood has any nutritional value for them for which they extract from a human with their four fangs. With their fangs they can also turn a human into their kind because they hold an unknown venom in them that can be released upon will."

"Good, good. That's more than I knew when I was your age. What you don't know is that vampirism can't only be contracted by being bit by a vampire. It can also be passed down through birth if both parents have the vampire gene."

"Are you telling me I'm a vampire?" I asked, a little louder than I had meant to.

Professor Snape seemed to struggle to find the right words. "Not particularly." He finally said. "Your case is a rare case where only one of the parents is a vampire. You see, your mother was not of my kind. She was a very beautiful witch by the name of Lorraine Banks."

"So does that mean I'm not a vampire?" I asked, thoroughly confused.

"I'm getting there. Don't get your knickers in a twist." He smiled and it looked awkward on his face for a moment before the rest of his features brightened. "When I first saw you at the Granger's house I was sure that you wouldn't have contracted vampirism for you had your mother's brown hair and hazel eyes. Your complexion wasn't pale but rather pink. For me it was a sigh of relief but there was always the chance that you would be a Halfling."

"Halfling?" I had never heard that term before.

"Both vampire and human sometimes create a whole new species on its own. A Halfling craves blood just as a vampire does but it can also go out in sunlight and be completely unaffected. After their first taste of blood human food no longer seems atrocious to them but it does not need to be consumed. Instead of the normal four fangs a vampire has they have only the two on the top in place of their canines and can turn a human into a Halfling if they choose to."

My head spun as I tried to wrap my mind around the possibility of being anything other than human. That had been blood I had been drinking earlier. "Can I still go back to school in the fall?"

Professor Snape stared at me silently for a long while. "I'm not sure that would be the best idea. With the large student body and the blood spilled everyday, especially with you being friends with Potter I wouldn't want to chance you losing control."

"What will I do for school then? I still have two years to complete!"

"I will visit Albus today and inform him that I'm resigning. I will home school you myself."

"Can I still visit Harry and Ron this summer?" I asked as he made to leave the room.

"Ah!" He exclaimed. "That reminds me. You have received quite a few letters from them and Miss Weasley while you remained locked in your room. I have them stacked on the end table in the sitting room if you wish to read them."

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A/n: So there's the second chapter. It's quite a bit longer than the first but still not very long so I hope to make the next chapters longer. Here are the voting results so far:

Harry: 3 (I really dread this one winning, I've never even read a Harry/Hermione fic let alone write one)

Bill: 2

Charlie: 2

Twins: 2 (please specify if you'd like to vote for one of the twins, how am I suppose to choose if this wins?)

Draco: 1

Marcus F: 1

Adrian P: 1

If you don't like these results change them by REVIEWING!!


	3. Chapter 3: Rooftops

A/N: Wow, I'm seriously shocked by the amount of reviews I've already received for this story. I almost fell out of my chair when I opened my email today. Anyway, here's the third chapter of Dark Nights. Hope you enjoy it, cuz it's not mine…except for the plot. Results will be at the bottom again.

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'Hermione, McGonagall wrote us and told us you were staying with Snape but she wouldn't tell us why. What's going on? Ron.' said one of the many letters that Ron, Harry, and Ginny sent me and they all had pretty much the same message.

I threw the stack of letters into the fire and sighed. There wasn't much I could tell them, much I _wanted_ to tell them. Ron would freak if I told him that Professor Snape was my father, Harry wouldn't know what to make of it if I told him that I was a Halfling, and Ginny can't deal with anybodies tragedies except for her own.

"You're not going to write back?" Professor Snape startled me as he strolled into the room.

"Maybe." I pulled my knees up to my chest and rested my chin on them. "I wouldn't know what to tell them. No matter what at least one of them is going to hate me."

"Then they're not your real friends." He said in that adult manner.

"Even so, they're the only friends I have." I muttered, turning my head away while I tried to hold back the tears that threatened to spill onto my cheeks.

Professor Snape paused and turned back to me from the fire. "Surely that's not true. You must have other friends. What about the other Weasleys?"

"Bill and Charlie have lives of their own, Percy's been disowned, and the twins are nice enough, I guess. They're just a bit too eccentric." I rattled off. "Ron's thickskulled. Harry has trouble thinking for himself most of the time, and Ginny's the biggest drama queen I've ever seen."

"Are you saying that you don't have any imperfections?"

I laughed humorlessly. "Are you kidding me? I've got bushy hair, I study too much so I have NO social life, and my friends would turn their backs on me in an instant if I said the wrong thing. I'm not brave like Harry, funny like Ron, and I don't know anything about fixing up the way I look or talking to boys like Ginny."

Professor Snape sighed. "You don't need to be like other people are. You need to be your own person with your own personality." He sat down next to me but it was stiff and awkward. "I have to go talk to Albus but if you need to we can talk when I get back."

"No, I'm fine." I said and he visibly relaxed. "I'll see you later." He left and I went rummaging around my bedroom for a piece of parchment. When I found one I unearthed my favorite quill and started writing a letter to Harry, Ron, and Ginny.

'Dear Harry, Ron, and Ginny,' I started because I knew for a fact that Harry was spending the whole summer at the Burrow, 'How are the three of you doing? I can't tell you how envious I am that you all can spend your summer together. I can't tell you why I'm staying with Professor Snape but I probably won't be back at school next year. Try not to get into too many adventures without me, especially the dangerous ones that break all the rules!' I had to stop myself from rolling my eyes. I couldn't care less what the boys did without me. Honestly, ever since my 'parents' died my life had really been put into perspective. I realized that if the boys didn't care about what I did then I couldn't find it in me to care about what they did. 'I'll try to get Professor Snape to let me come see you over the summer and yes this means that you'll be getting a new Potions professor along with Defense Against the Dark Arts. Hermione.'

I tied the letter to an owl's leg and sent it out my bedroom window. As I did so I noticed a small ledge just a ways off to the side. Carefully, I put my legs out the window and sat there for a while enjoying the cool breeze before reaching my foot over to rest it on the ledge. Pulling myself out of the window I put all my weight on the ledge and paused for a long moment.

From the ledge I pulled myself onto the roof and spread myself out. The clouds above me floated by lazily and I sighed happily, closing my eyes. Not ten minutes later the sound of an owl nearby pulled me out of my daydreams. I opened my eyes and was startled by an owl hovering above me with a note tied to its leg. As soon as I had the piece of parchment untied the owl took flight again and disappeared over the horizon.

'Who could this be from?" I wondered, studying my name scrawled across the front in an unfamiliar script. Before I could open the envelope I heard Professor Snape's voice floating through my open window. "Coming!" I yelled and quickly found my way back into my room again as I stuffed the envelope into one of my pockets. I threw open my bedroom door and Professor Snape was right there with his hand out as if he were reaching for the handle. "Do you need something?" I asked politely.

"I was just coming to inform you I told Albus of your situation and he's agreed to let me take this next year off to home school you. He also told me to tell you that he'd be sure to make sure that your friends knew why you were not coming back to school."

"No!" I exclaimed. "He can't do that! He can't just tell them. What if I don't want them to know?"

"Calm down and let me finish." He said calmly. "I told him that you would prefer he not mention anything about it and that you would tell your friends on your own."

"Do I have to?" I cringed at the whininess in my voice.

"I'm not going to force you to but just keep in mind that they'll find out eventually." He turned to leave and before I could close the door he asked. "Would it be too much to ask if you would join me for dinner?"

"But you don't-"

"But you do." He cut me off and I nodded at his simple logic, even though he couldn't see me. "Besides, I don't need food to eat."

The thought of Professor Snape drinking blood made me cringe mentally. As my mind ran away with the thought I couldn't help but wonder where exactly he got all the blood from. "Professor Snape?" I asked, lengthening my strides to catch up with the tall man but I hadn't expected him to stop suddenly and ended up almost running into him.

He turned to me and there was a tight smile on his pale face. "I would prefer if you didn't call me that anymore. I am no longer your professor." I gulped silently. "If it is too much to ask for you to call me 'Father' then Severus will do just fine. Go on with your question."

"Oh, I was just wondering where the blood you drink comes from." I said and my voice was noticeably meeker.

"From willing donors or large animals that can spare a few pints without being affected, such as dragons."

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A/n: So this was about the same length as my last chapter with even less importance! So I'm especially excited lately because I'm going to a concert in 13 days with three of my best friends!! Anyway, here's what you're really looking for:

Bill: 4 (current leader)

Charlie: 3

Fred: 2

George: 2

Harry: 2 (yes you can take away votes)

Marcus: 3

Adrian: 1

Draco: 2

Twins: 1 (as in both of them)

If you're not satisfied with these results then change them by REVIEWING!!


	4. Chapter 4: DayNight

A/N: So, instead of almost falling out of my chair at the amount of emails I had….this time I actually DID. Guess how many emails I had about this story. 20! and that's just in about a 24 hour time period…not all of them were reviews but many of them were and I'll post results at the bottom again. I don't own Harry Potter cuz if I did, well…let's just say lions would be driving taxi cabs.

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It was almost two days later that I finally had a moment to myself. I pulled the letter out of the drawer it had been in and stared at it for a moment. As I tore the envelope open I was expecting to be pulled away at the last moment, right before I could read the letter. I paused before I unfolded the parchment and listened for and disruption of the silence.

I stuffed the letter into my pocket and climbed out onto the roof. The sun was just hitting the horizon filling the sky with pastels. I watched as the sun slowly sunk out of view and stars started to appear on a navy blue canvas. They sparkled and I could feel my eyelids growing heavy.

When I woke up the moon was almost hidden and the opposite sky was starting to lighten. I swung back into my window and landed gently on the floor, noticing that it was a lot easier to do than the past few times. My stomach growled and I stalked down to the kitchen, grumbling that I still hadn't gotten to read the letter, and found Severus sitting at the table reading the Daily Prophet.

"Where have you been all night?" He asked, not looking up.

I sighed. Ever since he had resigned for the year he had been getting back on his up during the night and sleeping during the day schedule and he expected me to do the same. "Sleeping." I said, heading straight for the cabinet that he stored the blood in.

"We're almost out, so use it sparingly." He said and I groaned.

"When are you going to restock?"

"I've been meaning to write a letter to the reserve." He put the newspaper down and rubbed his face. When his hands fell away I noticed that his eyes were bloodshot and there were large bags underneath them.

"No, go to bed. I'll write the letter." I sipped at the small amount of blood I had poured myself.

"Are you sure?" I nodded. "Well, in that case I'm going up to bed. I'll see you tonight before you go to bed." He stood and left the kitchen. I wandered into his office and pulled out a piece of parchment.

_Three quarts of fresh Horntail blood,_ I wrote in my loopy scrawl, _and one pint of Chinese Fireball please. Thank you, Hermione Snape._

I sent the letter off with an owl and trudged back to the kitchen to make myself pancakes only to find that the only _food_ food we had was an apple. I grabbed the apple and bit into it angrily, making a mental note to go out and buy food.

Two hours later I was up on the roof enjoying the warmth of summer when I remembered that I still hadn't been able to read my letter. Recalling that it was still in the pocket of the robe I had discarded earlier I swung down into my room. I found the robe lying on my bed and picked it up. After searching all the pockets I threw the robe on the floor and searched my bed. I finally found it under the bed and unfolded the parchment.

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A/n: I know it's short, please don't kill me!! I promise that you will find out who wrote the letter AND who she'll be paired with in the next chapter so GET YOUR VOTES IN NOW!! Here are the results so far:

Bill: 5 (CURRENT LEADER) ((OBVIOUSLY))

Charlie: 4

Fred: 2

George: 2

Harry: 2

Marcus: 4

Adrian: 1

Draco: 4

Twins: 2


	5. Chapter 5: Vampire Council

A/N: So I'm gonna extend the voting for one more chapter. I don't own Harry Potter, although that would be pretty sweet if I did.

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"Hermione!" Severus called up the stairs. "Get down here!"

I sighed and put the letter down on my desk. What the hell was he still doing up? Hadn't he gone to bed? He just wasn't going to let me read my letter, was he? I trudged down the stairs and found him standing at the bottom with his hands on his hips.

"I just got a letter from the vampire counsel that says you haven't replied to their letter. Have you?" He asked angrily.

"No!" I yelled. "I haven't even read the letter because every time I open the dang thing I'm interrupted!"

Severus froze. "Well, then you should probably go up and read it, shouldn't you?"

I sighed and marched right back up the stairs. _Miss Hermione Snape, you have been recognized by the Vampire Council and are hereby invited to a revealing ball in ten days. There you will accept the vampire code or be exiled from the wizarding community, eventually resulting in death. Send your acceptance within three days. Jacqueline, Head of the Vampire Council._ Refolding the letter I took out a quill and parchment.

The next day I slept until noon. When I woke up I found a note from Severus attached to my door. 'Yes!' I celebrated silently after reading it. 'The blood has arrived.'

I skipped down the stairs and threw open the cabinet to find it filled with glass containers full up to the brim with thick red liquid. After pouring myself a generous glass I sat down with a book but I couldn't focus on the words I was reading.

--Day of the Ball--

I stared at myself in the mirror and smoothed down the front of my dress. It clung to me from my waist up then fell elegantly down to the floor. It shimmered silver in the reflection and sparkled brilliantly when it caught the light.

Downstairs Severus was waiting for me in his dress robes, which honestly didn't differ much from his day to day robes. "You look beautiful." He told me with fatherly pride shining in his dark eyes. "Shall we go now?" I nodded and took his arm. The feeling that came with Apparating overwhelmed me and I felt as if I couldn't breathe. When the world around me stopped spinning I let go of my father's arm. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine." I replied as we started walking to the large white manor that stood proudly at the top of a hill.

"May I announce you Sir and Miss?" An elderly man at the door asked.

"Severus Snape and Hermione Snape." Severus said and we waited as he went inside and announced our names.

When he came back out he smiled at us. "You may go in now." Severus smiled reassuringly down at me as we stepped through the doors.

"Miss Hermione Snape." A soprano voice rang as I stepped into the large ballroom. I turned to my right and saw a graceful vampire floating across the floor towards me. I'm sure she was really walking but her movements were so fluid that it looked as if her feet never connected with the floor. "It is a pleasure to finally meet you."

"The pleasure is all mine." I said with a slight curtsey. "Thank you for inviting me to your wonderful home."

"You are welcome here whenever you need somewhere safe to stay." She smiled at me. "We will be dining soon, then closer to the end of the night we ask you to step foreword and read you the vampire code and you will choose to accept or decline. Until then you are free to socialize. Have fun."

I smiled as she left to converse with some of the other guests. As I surveyed the room I noticed Severus talking to many older vampires who I didn't recognize but from where I was standing I could detect slight French accents.

Tables were set up around the perimeter of the room and there were place cards at each seat. As I went searching for mine someone called my name behind me. I turned to look and found myself eye to shoulder with…

A/n: I know, I'm mean but I'm giving everyone a chance to get their votes in! I promise that it'll be in the next chapter. Here are the results so far:

Bill: 5 (and in third is bill…poor bill, he was winning for so long)

Charlie: 8 (and the dragon tamer pulls ahead)

Fred: 2

George: 2

Harry: 2

Marcus: 5

Adrian: 1

Draco: 6 (falling in close second)

Twins: 3


	6. Chapter 6: Charlie

A/N: I am shocked by the amount of reviews I've gotten. I've only had five chapters up till now and I've got half the reviews I have for my other big story which has 21 chapters total...i'm shocked. Thank you sooo much to all of my reviewers!! I don't own Harry Potter.

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I turned around and found myself eye to shoulder with Charlie Weasley. His red hair was now just past the tips of his ears. He smiled at me and motioned for me to sit down. As I did I noticed that his seat was right next to mine. "So how did you find yourself here?"

Sighing I leaned back in my chair. "It's a long story."

"Then give me the short and sweet version." Charlie said, taking a sip of water.

Words and phrases jumped around in my mind. I took a deep breath and they all fell into line. "My parents were killed. Well, they weren't actually my birth parents but they raised me. Professor McGonagall pulled me off the Hogwarts Express before it could leave the station and brought me to the Headmasters office." I stared down at my glass as blood started to appear inside of it. "To get straight to the point Pro-Severus is actually my father and he's a vampire. My mother was mortal and died giving birth to me. The tragedy turned me into a Halfling earlier than I was supposed to. Now I'm living with Severus and can't go back to school this year just in case I accidentally slip up and hurt somebody." I swirled the dark red liquid around in the glass and sighed. "So how did you get here?"

Charlie studied me with his deep blue eyes. "I was out in Romania trying to find a Chinese Fireball that had gotten loose. By the time I had found it it was dead. I started back to the camp and got caught in the middle of a furious storm. To get away from the wind and rain I holed myself up in a cave. Turns out there was a Halfling already inhabiting the cave and here I am."

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After we were both full Charlie stood and held out his hand. "May I have this dance?" I hesitantly took his hand and he led me out to the center of the floor where several couples were dancing.

As we twirled around the room the red haired man smiled down at me. "You really look lovely in that dress. It really brings out the silver in your eyes."

I giggled, "What are you talking about? My eyes are hazel. There is no silver in them."

He frowned and looked me hard in the eye. "I guess you're right. It must have been a trick of the light. Please forgive me."

"Not a problem." I studied his face and thought back to the first time I had met him in my fourth year.

"Is there something on my face?" He asked curiously as he spun me gracefully.

I laughed. "No, I was just wondering." I let my sentence trail off, unsure how to state my question. He waited patiently as I connected words and phrases in my mind. "I was wondering if your family knew about you being a Halfling and all."

Silence fell between us and I could almost hear the wheels turning in his head. **(A/n: My friends say that whenever I start thinking real hard…they think it's funny….cuz it is.) **Finally he said, "Most of my family doesn't know. The only person that I knew I could trust not to tell anyone was Bill because he was never home." His blue eyes sparkled as he looked down at me. "In fact, he's coming over tomorrow morning for breakfast and I'm sure he'd like to see you again."

"He probably doesn't even remember me." I said. It had been two years since I'd met him and I hadn't seen him since. I could barely remember what he looked like.

"I'll talk to Severus about that. He's pretty much been keeping me under lock and key ever since I arrived at his house a little over a week ago." My eyes immediately found the dark man conversing with a beautiful lady at the edges of the room. He turned his head and his dark eyes connected with mine.

--

The music came to a stop many hours after the clock had chimed midnight and Charlie and I took our seats. Jacqueline stood up at the head of the room. "Tonight we welcome one more to our rankings." Her voice rang out over the large crowd. "Would Hermione Snape please step into the center of the room?"

I stood from my seat and slowly walked to the very middle of the large ballroom. Jacqueline stood about ten feet in front of me holding a lovely golden goblet. The scent of blood wafted down from the lovely cup and I could feel my mouth start to water.

"Do you, Hermione Snape," the head of the Vampire Council started, "promise to uphold the Vampire Code? To keep humans, Muggle and wizard born safe? To take only what you need and no more? To keep your inheritance a secret from all those that need not know?"

Just as Severus had told me to do I bowed my head and stated in a clear voice, "In the name of the Vampire Council I promise." The goblet was handed to me and I sipped the sweet nectar that kept me alive from it. After a few seconds I handed it back and retracted my fangs. I could feel the magic in the blood, clearly from a powerful witch or wizard.

"Hermione Snape is now a member of the Vampire Council. Go safely into the morning." The beautiful vampire announced to the whole room and there was a flurry of movement.

I started back to my seat to wish Charlie farewell only to find that he was no longer seated there. Someone tapped my shoulder and I whirled to find the blue eyed man standing behind me with a piece of scrape parchment in his hands.

He pressed it into the palm of my left hand. "This is for you, in the case that you can make it for breakfast tomorrow." His lips brushed against the back of my hand. "I must be going. I hope to see you tonight."

--

"Did you have a nice time at the ball?" Severus asked as I steadied myself from the after affects of Apparating.

"I had a wonderful time." I said, smiling.

"I see that you and Charlie were getting along quite well. He certainly is a charming young man."

At his words I stared at him in disbelief. "You do realize that you just complemented a Weasley, right?"

Severus laughed. "Yes, Hermione, I do realize that. Charlie was the only one of that brood that I could actually handle being in the same room with. Not that anyone actually knows that, I have a reputation to keep."

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A/n: So this chapters a bit longer than the past….few. I decided to take the top three…contestants?...and refresh all their votes along with my favorite….contestant? I really don't know what to call them. Then you can only vote on those four and we'll see who wins! So here's what voting has been like so far:

Bill: 8

Charlie: 15

Fred: 2

George: 2

Harry: 2

Marcus: 6

Adrian: 1

Draco: 8

Twins: 3

So here's who you can vote for from here on out:

Charlie

Bill

Draco

Twins


	7. Chapter 7: Bill

A/N: I'm in shock at how many people have reviewed for this whole story…I swear if I had gotten the same amount of chapters for my last story, A Family of My Own, the reviews would have been in the 200's. Thank you all so much!! I don't own Harry Potter but someday I shall write a famous book!! ….okay not really but a girl can dream.

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The next night I woke up at around eight and smiled out at the darkening sky. Suddenly I remembered the previous night's events and shot out of bed. Severus was sitting at the table sipping at a wine glass. He looked up at me when I slid past him, trying desperately to stop before I slammed into something. "Yes?" He drawled.

"Charlie invited me to his flat for breakfast, may I go?" I asked, ready to use my puppy eyes.

"I don't see why not, what time?"

I was so shocked by his answer that all I could do was stare at him open mouthed for a few moments. Shaking my head I responded, "8:30. He gave me his Floo address too."

"Very well, make sure you're back before dinner."

In shock I walked up the stairs and received the slip of parchment from where I had tossed it onto my desk this morning. I tucked it into my pocket before looking down at my legs, realizing that I was still wearing my pajama pants.

After changing to blue jeans and a simple green t-shirt I slipped the parchment into my back pocket and slid down the railing to the ground floor. I landed gracefully at the bottom and smiled to myself.

Eight thirty came around and I threw a handful of powder into the roaring fireplace. "Number 7 Charlie's Flat!" I shouted and shut my eyes tight. When the spinning stopped I opened my eyes and stepped out of the fireplace, dusting my clothes off.

"Glad to see you could make it." Charlie said warmly as he stepped into view, drying his hands on a towel. "Bill should be here soon so I'd step away from the fireplace. He never seems to get the hang of travelling gracefully."

His words rang true five minutes later when Bill stumbled clumsily out of the fireplace. "Good ni…morning Charlie." He greeted his brother.

"Good to see you Bill. Remember Hermione?" He motioned to me and the eldest Weasley brother turned to face me.

"Ah yes. Gone the bushy hair, eh?" He fingered a strand of my wavy hair. His eyes widened for a second and he turned to Charlie. "Does she…?" He trailed off and Charlie laughed. "Don't worry, she's just like me."

Bill sighed in obvious relief and turned back to me, a large smile brightening up his freckled face. "That's good. I thought for a second that I had totally blown his big secret." He gasped. "But don't worry, I won't tell anyone about you being a Halfie either."

I leaned so I could see Charlie from behind Bill. "Is he always this happy?"

"Yeah. Although not usually this late at night." He eyed his older brother suspiciously. "What's up with you?"

"Oh Charlie!" He said happily. "It's finally happened! I've found true love! She's beautiful! Pale blond hair, pale skin, and the bluest eyes!"

Charlie laughed. "How is this different from any of the other girls?"

"Because when I'm around her I feel like she's the only female in the entire world." He sighed and flopped down on the couch.

I frowned, remembering the veela that had visited Hogwarts in our fourth year. "Is her name Fleur?"

"How'd you know? Are you psychic or something?"

"No, I've met her before." I eyed the redhead carefully. "Just promise me that you'll be careful, alright?" He nodded but I doubted that he had actually heard me.

Charlie picked up on the awkward silence that followed and said, "Well, enough idle chit chat. Breakfast is ready. Shall we?"

Bill stood and the two of us were led to the kitchen by Charlie.

--

"That was good." I complemented as I finished my meal. "Did you make it yourself?"

Charlie nodded. "At least one of us had to pick up on Mum's cooking skills. Right Bill?"

The eldest brother seemed to have dozed off in his chair sending Charlie and I into fits of laughter. I held my sides and tried to stop laughing as Bill jolted awake, almost falling out of his chair. "I think it's time you went home, it's getting late." The host told his brother as he pushed him towards the fireplace.

"That's probably a good idea. It was nice seeing you again Mione." Bill yawned and stepped into the fire.

After he had left Charlie smiled down at me. "Did Severus specify a time that you needed to be home?"

"Before dinner." I said. "Which means," I checked the clock, "until around 6 o'clock in the morning."

"In that case there's something I want to show you." He led me to a closed door and motioned for me to be quiet as he opened the door slowly. On the single twin bed that occupied the room there was a small grey kitten curled up in a ball. "I found her wandering around Diagon Alley with no collar on. She reminded me of you." I cocked my head to the side in question. "I remembered that you had a cat when I saw you your fourth year."

My eyes prickled. Crookshanks had run off soon after the summer after fifth year had started and I had seen neither head nor tail of him since. My parents had bought me an eagle owl that I had named Crabapple for its sour attitude. Halfway through sixth year I had traded him for a barn owl at a quaint shop in Hogsmeade but the stupid thing flew away before I could even decide on a name for him. After that I had sworn off of pets for a while. I figured they just weren't worth it.

"Would you want to take care of him?" Charlie asked, pulling me out of my memories.

"Really?" I asked, my mood suddenly brightening. "You'd let me take him home with me?"

He laughed. "I was never all that good with domestic animals. He likes to scratch at me any chance he gets."

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A/n: So there's the seventh chapter and here's the voting so far:

Charlie: 7 (surprise surprise)

Bill: 4 (don't worry, he's not out of the polls)

Twins: 1 (this disappoints me…o well)

Draco: 3


	8. Chapter 8: Twins

A/N: I'm so sorry that this took me so long to get up. I swear it will never happen again…maybe. So here is the next chapter. Hope you like it. Not mine.

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"Hermione!" Severus roared from the kitchen and I buried my head under my pillow. "Get down here and control your cat!"

I sighed and rolled out of bed. "Can't you wait until 11 to start making trouble?" I grumbled to no one in particular as I stumbled sleepily out into the hallway. "Voldie!" I yelled down the stairs. The tiny grey kitten refused to respond to anything other than that and it was really starting to take a toll on Severus. The constant day to day reminder of his past mistakes.

A ball of grey fur came flying up the stairs and attached itself to my leg. I walked back to my room before ripping the claws out of my pajama pants and slamming my door shut before he could run out again. "You've made enough trouble for one day." I scolded the kitten. I threw a toy at its head. "Entertain yourself while I get dressed."

I closed myself in my closet and got ready for the long night ahead of me. Severus said that he was going to start home schooling me in potions today even though school didn't start for another week.

An owl tapped at my window as I straightened my shirt and with a flick of my wand the glass disappeared. I sighed and took the letter from the owl.

_Hermione_

_Fred and George are coming over for breakfast tomorrow and I was hoping you'd be able to make it. I'm not sure I'll be able to handle the two of them on my own. Hope to see you tomorrow, Charlie_

I laughed at the letter and quickly wrote that I'd be there on the back of his note. "Be safe." I told the owl as I let him go, noticing that the stars were starting to disappear behind clouds. With the glass back in place and a mental note to practice the spell I traipsed downstairs.

"You ready for your lesson today?" Severus asked, engrossed in the newspaper as he always was.

"Yes, Sev. I've read through the text a million times. I think I'm ready." I stood on tiptoes and stretched my arm to take a glass out of the cupboard. "Anything interesting in the news today?"

"Not much. There was another raid at the Ministry last night but the Death Eaters were apprehended. Apparently they were searching for the…for Voldemort." He winced slightly as he uttered the name. "According to them he's gone missing and no one can find him after the last time he dueled with Harry at the end of the school year." He set down the paper. "The Ministry is still denying that he's even back."

"Idiots." I mumbled grumpily.

--

"Wrong." Sev said as he looked into my cauldron. "The potion should be black not midnight."

"What?" I exclaimed angrily. "I did everything the book told me to." I scanned the text in front of me and looked back to my potion.

The black haired man shook his head. "Well obviously you messed up somewhere and I'm guessing you didn't put enough black rose root in."

"How do you know? I measured that perfectly." I objected.

He bent down momentarily and when he straightened he was holding a piece of the root in his hands. "But it seems that one fell to the floor as you carelessly dumped them in."

I sighed and sat down heavily on the wooden chair behind me. Severus left the room and I vanished the contents of my cauldron.

--

"Ugh." I grunted as I fell out of the Floo Network in Charlie's flat the next morning.

"I take it something's bothering you." The red head called from the kitchen as I dragged myself to the table and sat down.

"Voldie woke me up at three in the afternoon." I sighed. "I'm just about ready to lock him up in my closet and let him starve."

Charlie chuckled and set a tall glass down in front of me. "Why don't you sell him to Magical Menagerie and buy a different cat."

"Because I love him!" I gasped, offended at the idea.

My statement caused Charlie to laugh harder. "You do realize that you just contradicted yourself, right?"

I paused. "So what? I'm tired. My brain's not yet working properly." I took a sip of the beverage in front of me. "So where are Fred and George?"

"Right here!" Two voices called in unison from the connected room. Fred and George came walking in the room. I looked up at them and glared. They were far too happy for this early in the evening. "Fred," George said, backing away slowly, "I think we oughta stay off of her bad side."

"See, I knew it would be a good idea to have you here." Charlie said as he set out two plates for the twins. "You can keep them in line."

"I should just leave if that's the only reason that I'm here." I said, standing. Getting up so early on top of Sev's criticism yesterday had really put me in a bad mood.

"No!" Charlie said quickly, putting a hand on my shoulder but quickly retracting it when I looked at him. "Stay, please. I don't want you to leave."

"Yes, stay!" The twins chorused. "We haven't seen you in so long. Why don't you ever come to our shop?"

"Say one more word to me," I hissed, eyeing the twins dangerously, "and I will come find you and rip your throats out as you sleep." Charlie opened his mouth to comment and I turned on him. "Same goes for you Dragon Boy." I sat back down and took a long draw from the glass in front of me.

The three redheads sat awkwardly and silently started to eat as I glared at the wall opposite me. After I had finished my drink I found my bad mood ebbing away. I leaned back in my chair and closed my eyes. Before I knew it I was standing in the middle of a long hallway I had never seen before.

The floor was made of white marble and the ceiling seemed to be light years away. Upon the walls were beautiful paintings. A beautiful woman appeared at the end of the hallway and started walking towards me slowly.

As she came closer I found myself stunned by her beauty. Her lips looked as if they had been dusted by the palest of rose petals. Black hair fell to her waist and seemed to float about her as she walked. The skin that was stretched upon her petite body was so pale that it literally glowed in the dim light. Silver eyes shone from beneath thick lashes.

Behind her suddenly were five other women just as beautiful as she was. "Hermione Snape." The first acknowledged.

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A/n: So what's with the pretty ladies? That was one of my longish chapters and I'll try to make them longer as the story gets deeper into the plotline. Here's voting so far (didn't change much):

Charlie: 7 (wow, still winning)

Bill: 5 (tied for second)

Twins: 2 (last….unfortunately)

Draco: 5 (tied for second)


	9. Chapter 9: Sev?

A/N: I'm glad everyone liked the last chapter. Here's the next one. I don't own Harry Potter

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"Hermione Snape." The first acknowledged and I bowed my head in respect. A cool hand raised my head so that I was looking at her eye to eye. "Good evening, I trust that you are well." Her voice chimed musically as her teeth glinted in the dim lighting.

I nodded solemnly. "Who are you?" I asked and immediately slapped my hands over my mouth, embarrassed at my bluntness.

The six beautiful women laughed, the sound tinkling in the silence. "We are the previous leaders of the Vampire Council."

"Like Jacqueline?" I asked, tilting my head slightly in question.

The woman that lead the group chuckled and shook her head, her eyes soft as she smiled down upon me. "No, Child. Jacqueline is merely the leader of London. She still has a leader to answer to. I am Valkyrie, the first leader of the Vampire Clans." They all stepped foreword and introduced themselves.

"We are here to help you." The vampire that had introduced herself as Silvestra said kindly.

"Help me with what?" I asked but they just smiled at me and shimmered away. "With what?" I asked again softly as my surroundings faded away around me.

I opened my eyes and yawned. Charlie was sitting calmly across from me. "Where did the twins go?"

"They left, about half an hour ago. They offered to take you home but I told them that I'd take care of it since they had their shop to get back to."

His words didn't make sense in my sleepy mind. "But they know-" I cut myself off. "Oh yeah, they don't know about us. I didn't give anything away, did I?"

"No. In fact, the twins were appalled that I was letting you drink wine." He motioned to the nearly empty glass in front of me.

"Didn't they wonder why you were in town?"

"I told my family I had taken some time off of work and had rented the flat to stay for a while. They were elated that I'd be in town and said that they'd drop by."

"And your excuse for being asleep whenever they drop by will be…?"

"That I'm so used to being up at different hours that I'm having trouble adjusting." He smiled. "See I've got this all planned out."

--

"I should get going. If I leave Sev alone with Voldie for too long I could end up with a dead cat on my hands." I stepped into the fire after bidding Charlie goodbye and was whisked home. When I stepped out of the fire I noticed that everything was oddly quite. "Hello?" I called and the noise seemed to echo back at me until it faded into silence.

"Sev?" I asked, opening the door to his study. The desk chair was sitting in front of the desk and everything was in order, as it always was. I made to close the door when I noticed that there was a piece of parchment sitting on the floor.

Silently scolding Voldie I bent to pick up the parchment. As I was placing it on the desk I noticed that my name was written in a hasty scrawl across the entire back of the parchment. Turning it over I discovered a note written to me in an unfamiliar script.

_**If you ever want to see your father again you will do exactly as I tell you. Await your first instructions tomorrow at 9 o'clock PM.**_

Tears fell unabashedly from my eyes. Note in hand I scrambled to the fireplace and threw a handful of Floo Powder in. With tears streaming down my cheeks I yelled Charlie's address and stumbled out onto his floor once the spinning sensation had stopped.

My loud sobs sent him running towards me and he started asking me questions but all I could force my body to do was hold the note out to him. He wrapped his arms around me as he read the note and his grip only tightened once he finished it.

I cried into his shoulder as he rubbed circles into my back and promised that he would help me any way he could. Eventually I cried myself to sleep and found myself in the marble hallway again. This time only one vampire appeared, Parisa. Her petite features were heavy with sadness.

"My child," she greeted me, placing her small hand on my shoulder, "I am saddened to hear of your loss. We will be watching over you in your time of need." Her chiming voice lifted some of the weight that sat upon my chest. Her arms opened wide and I collapsed into them.

--

"Hermione." A male voice murmured from nearby. "It's time to wake up." A strong hand gripped my shoulder and started shaking gently.

"Charlie?" I mumbled, blinking to clear the blurriness.

"No, it's Bill. Charlie went to your place to collect the instructions."

I shot up from where I had been sleeping. "What time is it?" I asked, frantically searching around the room for something that could tell me the time.

"Shh, calm down. It's only reached nine o'clock just now." He pushed me back down onto the pillows. "Charlie told me what happened, are you okay?" I shook my head, fighting the tears that threatened to stream down my cheeks. "Of course you're not. What kind of question was that?" He pulled me into a brotherly hug and I broke down into tears again.

--

_Go to Borgin & Burkes and buy a necklace with a silver chain that has a heart shaped sapphire. Once you have completed that await further instructions._

Charlie read aloud once he had returned. He looked at me and I could clearly read the pity in his eyes. I buried my face into the pillow I was holding on my lap.

When I had evened out my breathing I looked up at the two brothers. "I'm going to go buy the necklace. I'll see you guys later." I stood and the room immediately started spinning. Bill caught my arm as I started to stumble to the door. "Let me go!" I cried, trying to pull my arm away.

"I'm not letting you go anywhere, not like this." Bill said gently, steering me easily back to the couch. "And I'm sure Charlie agrees with me." He looked at his younger brother who nodded.

"I'm fine." I argued, still struggling against Bill's strong arms, not understanding why I couldn't break free. "I just want to get this done so I can see my father again."

Bill checked the large clock that was hanging above the fireplace. "Borgin & Burkes closes in five minutes. I'll go in the morning as soon as it opens and buy the necklace. Okay?"

I had no choice but to agree. Bill stared at me for a few moments before heading up to Charlie's guest room to go to sleep. I remained seated on the couch, staring into the fire but I could feel Charlie's gaze. "We'll get him back, I promise." The words were whispered but they sliced through the silence like daggers.

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A/n: Any guesses on what happened to Sev? I'm sure you've all got it figured out…or do you? LOL. Here are the voting results as of yet:

Charlie: 9 (still in first)

Bill: 5

Twins: 2 (still in last :sniffle: )

Draco: 7 (pulled ahead to second, I'm kinda shocked)


	10. Chapter 10: Voldie

A/N: Wow…I'm shocked at the amount of reviews I got in the past 20 hours. I thank you all and present you with the next chapter. I don't own Harry Potter…unfortunately.

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It had been two days since Sev had gone missing and we still hadn't gotten the next instructions. I paced nervously in front of the fireplace as the two brothers dozed.

Suddenly the fire burned bright green and a piece of parchment came shooting through. _**Very good. Now take the necklace and give it to the witch dressed in red that will be waiting outside of Flourish and Blotts. She will give you your next instructions.**_

"Charlie!" I all but pounced on the sleeping redhead. "Charlie, wake up." He groaned and rolled over so that his face was buried into the backrest of the couch. "Bill!" I yelled, leaping across the distance between the furniture. "Bill, wake up." Bill slapped at the air near my face and I let out a feral growl. "Wake UP!" I yelled, shaking the eldest Weasley son so hard that he fell off the couch.

"Merlin, Hermione. What is it?" He asked, rubbing the back of his head where it had hit against the floor.

"They came, Bill." I held out the note for him to read. "What do we do?"

"We do as they say." He said solemnly, checking the time. "It looks as if Charlie is out for the day," he speculated as he watched his younger brother drool on the armrest of the burgundy couch, "which means you're coming with me. You're okay in the sun, right?" He eyed my skeptically. I nodded and we set out.

--

"Do you think that's her?" I whispered to Bill, eyeing the witch in a red set of robes and long talon-like red fingernails.

"I think it's our best bet." He replied. "What do you suggest we do?"

"I don't know," I hissed, "you figure it out."

"Excuse me, Miss." He said, approaching the witch in red. "I do believe you dropped this back there." He motioned behind us as I stuck near his side, eyeing the witch nervously.

Thin fingers wrapped around the offered necklace. "Thank you dears." She smiled and I winced at the sight of her rotting teeth. "Your honesty deserves a reward. Here you go." She extended another hand and in it was a piece of parchment. I gulped as Bill, making as little contact as possible, took the parchment from her with a polite thank you and goodbye.

--

"What does it say?" I asked for about the hundredth time as we walked through the door of Charlie's Flat. "Bill just read it already!" My patience was long gone; I just wanted my father back.

"Calm down Hermione." The redhead sighed. "I'll read it as soon as we wake Charlie."

"Charlie!" I yelled, pouncing on the sleeping Weasley. "Wake up right now or I'm going to go get Vol-" I straightened and stared at the fireplace. "Voldie!" I gasped, leaping off of the waking redhead and over to the pot of Floo Powder.

"Voldie!" I yelled as I spun out of the fireplace. A clatter came from the kitchen and I ran full speed into the room to find that it was a mess and Voldie was sitting right in the middle licking his paw. "I'm so sorry I forgot about you!" I scooped the kitten up in my arms and hugged him close to my chest.

--

"Would you mind explaining what the frantic wake-and-run was all about?" Charlie questioned as I stepped calmly into his flat with Voldie in my arms.

I looked sheepishly to the floor. "Bill and I got more instructions," I started, "and then I had to go get Voldie before he starved to death." Said cat hissed at the younger of the present Weasley's.

"Great, the demon cat is back." Charlie groaned, running a hand through his hair.

"He's not a demon!" I hugged Voldie closer to me and glared at Charlie. "He just doesn't like you very much." I smiled into the cat's hair as Bill stepped between us to keep the peace.

"Let's just find out what we have to do next so that we can get Professor Snape back." I sniggered and Bill glanced at me, shocked at the sound. "What?"

"You do realize it's been a long time since you've been in school." Bill nodded. "You don't have to call him Professor Snape anymore." I giggled as the eldest Weasley brother flushed a brilliant red.

--

_**There isn't much left. A few more errands that I cannot run for myself and you'll have your father back again. Now what I need you to do is send fifty galleons to Azkaban in a pouch labeled 'NM'. Once I have received word that you have done that I will send you your next duty.**_

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It had been almost 24 hours since I had sent Charlie's owl off with the money and nearly 11 since it had returned. I stood a mere three feet from the fire ready for another set of instructions to come. The orange flames bled green and I quickly jumped into the fire and found myself standing right in front of…

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A/n: Who do you think it is?? I know, you all thought that Voldie was Voldemort and he had taken our dear Sev for betraying him. Or were you?!? But no, Voldie is merely a cat. Or is he?!? Sorry to cut this chapter so short but I really want to get something posted to…night. Can't really call it today anymore. And voting stands at:

Charlie: 10 **(this number makes me kind of sad)**

Bill: 5

Twins: 2 **(this number makes me really sad)**

Draco: 12 **(I was shocked at how quickly he pulled ahead.) ((nice try .hateXx but since they were all submitted on the same day it only counts as one vote)) (((Thanks for all the reviews though)))**


	11. Chapter 11:MALFOY!

A/N: YAY!! I love you guys!! I broke one hundred reviews and it's all thanks to you guys!! Here's the next chapter!! Sorry this took so long but I wrote and deleted at least ten times. I'm just not happy with this chapter. Hopefully when the story gets going it'll be easier to write…..and just so everyone knows, I have no idea where this story is going. Just a heads up.

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I quickly jumped into the fire and found myself standing right in front of Draco Malfoy. Rage flooded my entire being and I found myself punching the blond in the face, just as I had done in our third year. "How dare you?" I yelled, unfazed by the blood pouring from his nose. "Where is my father?"

"Keep your voice down." Malfoy whispered, covering his nose with one hand, trying to stem the flow of blood. "He could hear you."

"I hope he hears me." I said, just as loudly. "I'm here to get him. No more games."

"Shh." The blond hushed me again. "I'll take you to Severus on one condition."

"I said no more-" I started but he cut me off.

"Get me out of here." He said slowly, fear sparkling in his icy blue eyes. "I can't stand it anymore. I need out." I nodded, and a small smile flickered on his thin lips. "Come with me but be careful. The Dark Lord could be anywhere and I don't even want to think about what he would do if he found us."

--

"Sev!" I cried when I saw him locked in a dank room in the dungeons of Malfoy Manor. "Are you okay?"

He turned to face me and I could see in his dark eyes that he was ready to give up. "Hermione, is that really you?" He came to the door and stared at me through the small barred opening.

"Of course." I said, my eyes burning with unshed tears. "I'm here to take you home." I turned to Malfoy who stood quietly in the shadows. "Can you get the door open?"

Malfoy dug around in the pockets of his robe and came out with a single key. "I made a copy of it yesterday." He whispered to me as he slowly inserted the key into the lock, constantly checking his surroundings as if the shadows were going to attack him. Considering where we were and who else was in the manor, I wouldn't be surprised if they did.

--

"Are you okay?" I asked when we finally got back to our home. Malfoy helped me lay him down on a couch then left for the kitchen to get something for him to drink. "Wait!" I said. "You stay here with him and I'll get something for him to drink. He's very specific with what he likes."

"Are you implying that I don't know what my godfather likes?" Malfoy demanded.

"Yes, that's exactly what I'm implying." I said as I advanced on him, fists clenched by my sides. "Now get out of my way."

"Would the two of you stop arguing and just get me something to drink?" Sev called from the couch.

I brushed past the blond and grabbed a tall crystal glass and the container of blood. Rushing back to the living room I poured some of the red liquid into the glass and handed it to Sev. He downed it in about a second and handed me the empty glass. I set it down on the end table and whipped out my wand.

Before I could clean my father up the fire roared green and Bill and Charlie shot out of the fireplace. "Hermione!" They called in unison when they saw me. "Thank Merlin you're okay." Next think I know I'm enveloped between the two eldest Weasley sons.

"And you got Professor Snape back!" Charlie cried, noticing the man lying on the couch. "And, Lucius' son too." He said, unenthusiastically. "Why is he here exactly?"

"He helped me." I said shortly, pushing Bill away but failing to break Charlie's strong arms.

"I don't care if he helped you." Charlie said, tightening his grip on me. "I don't like the look in his eyes." The redhead looked down on me and I saw concern flashing brightly in his blue eyes.

"Charlie, really, I wouldn't have brought him here if I thought he could kill me." I said, staring up and him and revealing my needle sharp fangs so no one else could see, specifically Malfoy.

--

"You really trust him?" Charlie asked later after we had finally gotten Sev to take a Sleeping Draught.

I hesitated, choosing my words carefully. "I wouldn't say I trust him, per se. It's more like I know that he won't hurt me, because he can't, and if the situation calls for it I can easily…" I ran a finger across my neck and Charlie chuckled.

"Well, if you can live with it than I can too." He smiled at me and I could have sworn I saw something unfamiliar flash across his eyes.

--

The next night I woke up and exited my room to find Malfoy standing outside the door with his fist raised. "What have you been doing in there all day?" He spat? "I've been wandering around trying to find you and when I realized you must be here you wouldn't answer me."

"Forgive me for _sleeping_." I hissed, rubbing the haze from my eyes.

"What in Merlin's name were you doing sleeping during the _day_?" Malfoy asked as if it were a crime punishable by death.

I opened my mouth to tell him exactly why when a kind voice whispered in my ear. "You must not tell him. He has no right to know." I immediately knew that it was Valkyrie who was speaking to me and after a brief moment of confusion I closed my mouth. "My schedule is off at the moment." The answer sounded lame, even to my own ears.

"Whatever." The blond brushed it off with a swing of his pale hand. "Severus is still sleeping and that's exactly what I would like to do. So if you would be so kind as to show me where it is I can do so…" He trailed off expectantly and I had half a mind just to kick him out on the streets.

"Follow me." I ground out from behind barred teeth.

--

"He's such an ungrateful little brat!" I complained to Sev once he had woken up. He nodded and sipped on his glass of blood. "How can you stand being around him?"

"You seem to think that this is how he acts all of the time." He said calmly and I whirled around in shock.

"Are you saying that he's different than the Malfoy that I've known since First Year?"

"All I am saying is that he is simply treating you how you have been treating him." He took a deep drink. "Maybe if you would lighten up on him, he would be kinder and slowly take off the mask his father forced him to wear for most of his life. Remember the family he comes from. Do you expect it was easy for him to grow up like that when he's got such a naturally kind soul?"

"I'll believe it when I see it." I scoffed but mentally promised myself that I wouldn't be so harsh on the blond Slytherin.

--

A/N: And that's the next chapter, eleven, I believe. Again I'm extremely sorry for the long wait but my life has been so hectic with school and everything!! Thanx for your patience!!

Charlie: 20

Bill: 7

Twins: 4

Draco: 17

LAST CHANCE TO VOTE!!! GET YOUR VOTES IN NOW!!


	12. Chapter 12:Trouble

A/N: Here's the next chapter!! I'm so glad I still have some readers left!! You probably don't know this but I don't own Harry Potter. Shocker, isn't it? HOPE YOU ALL HAD A HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

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For the next few days I tried to be kinder to the blond Slytherin. When he wasn't paying attention I'd study him and notice that Severus had been right. He wasn't really the cold hearted bastard that I had once thought him to be.

One night while I was watching him eat under the cover of reading in front of the fire said fire turned green and Charlie stepped into the room. When I looked from him back to the kitchen I noticed that Malfoy had disappeared.

"Nice going." I grumbled, standing from my seat on the couch. "He's not as bad as you seem to think he is, you know."

The redhead sighed, "I know. I just don't like the way he looks at you."

I stared up at him confused. "What do you mean how he looks at me? With hate?"

Charlie chuckled. "That's only when he's caught. When you're not paying attention it almost seems as if…" He stopped talking, leaving the statement open ended.

"Almost as if what?" I asked, staring up into ocean blue eyes. Charlie frowned slightly as he stared down at me. The fire crackled in the background and I could hear faint footsteps echoing upstairs.

"Almost as if he's fallen in love with you." He finally whispered, his face drawing closer to mine.

I shifted my eyes to the floor and took a step back. My face flushed and I stumbled over my words. "I'll be right back. I've got to, um, check on Sev." And with that I dashed upstairs and locked myself in my room. Once I had caught my breath I pulled open my window and settled myself down on the roof.

"What are you doing up here?" A voice asked and I whirled around. Malfoy was sitting on the other side of the roof with his legs dangling over.

"What do you mean what am _I_ doing up here? What are _you_ doing up here?" I stood and walked halfway to where he was sitting. He stood and glared at me. I sighed. "I mean, I always come up here. When did you find out you could get up here?"

His cold eyes softened a bit and he took a few steps towards me. "Just a few days ago. It got kinda lonely with you and Severus sleeping so I went exploring. It's really peaceful up here."

I nodded. "I know what you mean. It's almost as if you're disconnected from the rest of the world."

"Hermione!" Charlie's voice floated up to us from my open window.

"Except for when that happens." I sighed, noticing that Malfoy's eyes had hardened once again.

"Hermione, I'm sorry!" His voice called.

When I sat down Malfoy looked at me as if I had two heads. "Aren't you going to go talk to him?" I shook my head. "Why not?"

"I don't feel like talking to him right now." I said truthfully. "I'd much rather stay up here." I stared up at the twinkling stars and felt at home. A shooting star momentarily lit up the sky and I closed my eyes. _'I wish everything wasn't so complicated.'_ I sent my wish up to the stars and could have sworn that they flashed brightly as I opened my eyes.

Malfoy yawned from where he sat behind me and I laughed. "What's so funny?" He asked indignantly.

"I keep forgetting you're on a different schedule than me and Sev. Go get some sleep Malfoy. I'll see you tomorrow night."

"Only if you call me Draco." He said standing. "I am no longer a Malfoy." I nodded and he smiled.

----

The next few days flew by so quickly I barely had time to breath. Charlie was in and out of the house, Sev was in and out of consciousness, and Draco and I barely saw each other.

Finally one night we finally met up on the roof just as the sun was peeking up over the horizon. "It just seems as if there's not enough time in the day, doesn't it?" Draco asked. "Or night in some cases."

I laughed. "Tell me about it. I feel as if I haven't had a decent night's sleep in weeks." I said as I stretched. "I think…" I yawned. "I could sleep for days."

The sky was lit with pastel colors as I could feel myself slowly drifting off to sleep. Right before I totally lost consciousness I heard Draco stand and whisper, "Sleep well." Before leaving.

----

"It seems as if you have a bit of a competition for your heart." Rhoswen laughed as she appeared in the hallway. I looked at her, confused. "Charlie and the young blond. They are both after your affections."

"Oh no," I giggled, "they're both just friends."

Rhoswen looked at me knowingly. "You may think so but if you pay close attention you may find that things are not as they seem." She smiled. "But it's not exactly unexpected. Leaders of the Vampire Council are always viewed upon as being exceptionally beautiful."

"What do you mean? I'm not in charge of the Vampire Council." I shook my head firmly.

"Ah, but you will be someday. Why do you think we've been visiting you?"

I looked at her blankly. "But I'm a Halfling. Is that even possible?"

"There's nothing in our Code that says anything against it." She said as her edges started to blur.

Suddenly I was alone in the hallway and for the first time since these dreams had started coming to me I had the chance to explore my surroundings. The portraits on the walls smiled at me as I passed by, each one of them scarily gorgeous.

As I reached the end of the hallway I turned to the only door and stared at it. The golden door handle glinted in the pale light. I reached out for it but as my fingers made contact with the cool metal the hallway started to fade right before my eyes.

----

"Hermione, are you okay?" Charlie asked one night as we sat in his kitchen waiting for Bill to come for breakfast. "You look sick."

"I'm fine." I sniffled. "I just haven't gotten much sleep lately."

"Nonsense," Charlie said as he placed a cool hand on my forehead, "you're burning up. You need to go home and get some rest."

"I'm fine." I insisted, blinking away at the haze that had started falling across my vision. "I really am."

Charlie raised an eyebrow. "I don't believe you and I'm sure that if your father was here he'd agree."

I blushed shamefully. Ever since I had started feeling a bit under the weather I had been avoiding Sev. Surely if he had seen me like this I'd be stuck in bed for weeks while he poured potion after potion down my throat. "Really, Charlie, I'm fine. I promise that as soon as I get home I'll get some rest but I haven't seen Bill in ages."

"If you say so." The redheaded former Dragon Tamer said hesitantly. "But you have to swear to Valkyrie that you'll go straight to bed as soon as you get home."

"I swear." I said as a loud THUD alerted us of Bill's arrival.

Breakfast passed by slowly and I could feel my eyelids growing heavier and heavier as time went on. By the time I had finished my food everything seemed to be moving in slow motion. Bill was looking at me worriedly and Charlie was asking me something but I couldn't hear him over the ringing in my ears.

Suddenly everything went quiet and I could see Bill yelling something as everything started to blur. Strong arms wrapped around me and I was lifted from my seat. I tried to say something but it was as if my mind had disconnected from my body.

I watched as I was carried into the fireplace and suddenly fire wrapped around me. Everything was hot and I couldn't cool down even after we had stepped from the fireplace at my home. A shrill siren broke through the silence and it took me a few moments to realize that I was screaming.

I saw Draco rushing towards us as my vision started to ebb away. Sev was pulling me from the strong arms and rushing me upstairs. As my sight went black I found peace in the emptiness and felt as if I were floating away from my body.

----

When I opened my eyes I was in a much different hallway than I had ever been in before. There were no portraits but rather black vases filled with white roses adorned the tables along the stretch of hallway.

No one came to meet me as I took a woozy step ahead. "Hello?" I called and found my speech was slow and slurred. "Is anyone here?"

A small child's laugh came from behind me but when I turned to look for its source I became dizzy and fell. I closed my eyes, expecting contact with the floor beneath me but just kept falling. Dark nothingness surrounded me when I opened my eyes. I could see nothing but my hand when I struggled to hold it mere centimeters from my face.

I landed with a thump in a field of grass. The moon shone brightly in the night sky above me. "Hermione." A voice whispered. "Hermione please wake up. We don't know what's wrong with you." A flash of blue erupted before me. "Just give us some sign that you're okay." I slowly reached out to the blue light with a heavy arm. My whole body felt sluggish as I walked towards it.

My fingers brushed against it and chills ran down my spine. "Severus!" The voice was now loud, too loud. I covered one ear with my free arm as the other one stayed in the glowing blue light. "Something's wrong, she won't stop shaking." My ears rang with the sheer volume of the voice and I pulled my hand away to cover my other ear.

The light slowly started to fade away. "Wait!" I called but the words danced out in front of me soundlessly.

--

A/n: What's happened to our dear Hermione? I know I said that the last chapter was the last chance to vote but I changed my mind, you have one last chance, but now it's only between Charlie and Draco.

Charlie: 27  
Bill: 7  
Twins: 4  
Draco: 20

So who's it going to be? Charlie, the redheaded Halfling, or Draco, who has no idea what Hermione is?


	13. Chapter 13:Idonia

A/N: I'm amazed at the amount of reviews I have gotten. Not just for the past chapter but the story in general!! I love all you guys! –Hands out virtual cookies- I don't own Harry Potter…but that would be too cool if I did.

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Pain seemed to be flowing through my veins. I shut my eyes tightly, as if trying to block it out. My whole body throbbed and I couldn't even think coherently.

Suddenly the pain stopped and I opened my eyes. Valkyrie was floating in front of me. "Hermione." She whispered, avoiding eye contact. "Come with me." I stood and took her offered hand. "It is time for you to stand in front of the council."

She turned and I gasped when her normally silver eyes flashed deep red. I tried to free my hand from her grasp but she dug her nails into my wrist and started hissing at me. "You must stand before the Council."

"What council?" I shrieked. "Where are you taking me?"

She turned and faced me smiling. Instead of having four sharp fangs all her teeth came down to a point. "The Council of Death." She cackled.

I ripped my hand from her deathly grip and took a sharp breath as I felt her nails rip through my skin, leaving bloody trails behind. As soon as my feet hit solid ground I started to run.

Time passed and my scenery, what I could see of it through the darkness, stayed the same and I realized that I wasn't getting anywhere. I looked down and a pang of dread hit me as I noticed that the floor was moving the other way.

--

My surroundings had long dissolved and I found myself floating in a fuzzy grey world. Voices faded in and out as I wandered carelessly wherever the current took me.

"Severus, what's happening to her?" The loudest voice asked.

I tried to clear the fog from my mind. Severus, that name sounded like it should be important to me. Memories played on a hazy screen before the voice faded out again and my mind went blank.

--

A bright light surrounded me and suddenly I was standing in a very familiar hallway. Valkyrie shimmered into existence and I flinched away. "Hermione, child, what's wrong?" She reached out to me with a delicate hand.

"Don't touch me!" I shrieked, stumbling backwards. "Leave me alone." Silvestra and Parisa appeared on either side of me. "No!" I yelled, stumbling back into gentle arms. I turned and saw Fiammetta. "Go away! Leave me alone! I don't want to die!"

"Who said anything about dying, child?" Parisa asked sweetly, stepping closer. "We're here to help you through your transformation."

"What are you talking about?" I asked, trying to find a way out of the circle of former Council Leaders. "What's happening?"

"The current leader of the Vampire Council has recently taken ill and it's time for you to take over." Rhoswen said. "When you wake up someone will arrive at your house and take you and your family to New Zealand where you will meet with Idonia. She will bless you then you will leave the room so she can come to us."

Time passed by quickly and I felt my body undergoing changes. Everyone started to shimmer away until only Talia was left. "It's time to wake up." She whispered in my ear and everything went black.

--

I blinked and the bedroom came into focus. I sat up and stretched the stiffness out of my joints. As I did so I noticed Charlie snoozing in a chair to my left and Sev doing the same to my right. The door clicked softly as it opened and Draco stepped in. He looked cautiously at the sleeping duo and then turned his attention to my bed.

"Oh." He said looking shocked. "What happened to you?"

"What do you mean?" I asked, not sure whether I should be offended or not.

"Your eyes…your skin….your hair…" He started, trailing off and staring at me in confusion. "You look different."

I stood, wincing as my knees cracked loudly, and immediately went into the bathroom down the hall. The image reflected in the mirror was nothing like I had expected. My eyes seemed to glow with a silvery shine as they looked out from beneath thick black lashes. My pale pink lips parted with a gasp and my hair seemed to flow like a silvery blond river down my back. Smooth skin that sparkled silver in the light spread where my old pale flesh used to be.

"Something's definitely up with you and I want to know what it is." Draco said from the doorway as I marveled at my reflection.

The doorbell rang and I gasped. "I'll tell you sometime but right now you need to go wake Sev and Charlie." He opened his mouth to protest. "Please Draco?" After a moment of hesitation he turned on his heel and stalked off to my room, grumbling under his breath.

I raced to the door and flung it open. On the front step stood a young vampire with golden eyes. "Miss Hermione Snape?" He questioned. I nodded. "You are requested at the Council Manor in New Zealand. Gather your belongings and your family and I shall take you there immediately."

"Of course." I said, "Please come in and make yourself comfortable." The vampire stepped inside and I turned back to the stairs.

"Hurry up you guys." I said as I entered my room and found Sev and Charlie rubbing sleep from their eyes. "Go and pack up all of your clothes and anything you want to take with you." I stared at Charlie for a moment. "Well, you don't actually live here so I suppose you really aren't coming with."

"Bullshit!" He yelled, "Of course I'm coming." There was a long pause. "Where are we going?"

I giggled then said. "I'm sorry Charlie but I don't think you can come. He said family, and I'm sorry but you really aren't a part of my family."

"Neither is he!" The redhead yelled, pointing to Draco. "And yet you're not telling him that he can't go."

"Because we're all the family he has." I said. "I really am sorry Charlie. I'll come find you as soon as this is over, I promise."

"And when will that be? When you die?" He was red with anger. "Look at you! It doesn't take a genius to figure out what happened to you. You're just gonna fly off to your new manor and leave me behind and I'll never see you again."

"What is he talking about?" Draco asked as he re-entered the room, Sev not far behind.

"I'll tell you later Draco right now we really need to get going." I turned back to Charlie. "I promise that I'll send you a letter tomorrow and then you can come live in the manor or whatever you like but for now I really need to go." I wrapped my arms around the angry Weasley and he stiffened. "I promise that you'll see me again before I die."

--

"Are you ready?" The golden eyed vampire asked as we all gathered by the front door. I looked to Sev and Draco before nodding. "Excellent, the sooner we can leave the sooner we'll get there. Come on." He stepped closer to us and suddenly we were surrounded in a golden mist.

When the mist faded away we were standing in front of a large manor. "Would someone tell me what's going on?" Draco asked loudly as the vampire led us into the manor. I threw him a sharp look and he glared back at me.

--

"Hermione, please sit. I've been expecting you." Said the vampire in the bed as I stepped into the room. I sat down in the chair next to the bed. "It's nice to see that someone so young taking my position."

"It's still a shame to lose a leader like you." I said, slightly taken aback by how gorgeous Idonia was, even on her deathbed. "I can only hope that I will be as successful as you."

She smiled up at me, her fangs glittering behind pale lips. "May the former leaders be with you every step of the way. We will meet again Hermione Snape."

"May your transition be smooth." I said as I stood. I left the room but I could have sworn that I saw 6 lights shimmering.

"You are now ready to be inducted as the Council Leader." The golden eyed vampire, who I'd discovered was named Joseph, told me as I came down to the entrance hall where Sev and Draco were waiting for me. He turned to Draco. "You must stay here. I will come for you when the ceremony is over."

--

"Do you swear to look over the vampire community and do as feel is best for everyone?" The black haired vampire asked as he stood in front of me.

"I swear." I said as I kept my left hand raised.

"You are hereby the leader of the Vampire Council." A loud snap resounded in the large room.

Everyone stood and I approached the vampire that had sworn me in, Ebbe. "Will I still be able to continue my schooling next year?" I asked. I had really been hoping that I'd be able to go back to Hogwarts for my seventh year.

Ebbe sighed and contemplated my question for a few long moments. "I don't think so. You will be needed around the world. In fact, there's something else I need to talk to you about." He led me to a chair and motioned for me to sit down. "You will need to choose a co-leader that you will be bound to. He will be in charge of our warriors and once he dies you will become very sick over the course of a few months then die as another leader is sworn in."

"You mean I have to find a husband?" I clarified for myself and he nodded. "How long do I have?"

"I'd say only until the New Year." He said. "I have to take my leave now. I shall see you at the next council meeting in two weeks."

Until the New Year. That only gave me a little over a month. I steadied my breathing and left the room.

--

A/n: Who will she pick to be her hubby?!?!? It's all up to you guys!! Here's the voting so far!

Charlie-6

Draco-9

Don't like the turnout? CHANGE IT BY VOTING!


	14. Chapter 14: Don't Go!

A/N: A big thank you to all of my reviewers!!! Here's the next chapter!! I don't own Harry Potter.

--

"Here, let me get that for you." Charlie said, stepping in front of me and opening the door. He smiled as I passed through and I heaved a great sigh. Ever since they had caught word that I needed to pick a partner to be bonded with they were going crazy trying to make me choose them, and as time boiled down they just tried harder and harder. Frankly, it was getting on my nerves.

Draco had finally been informed and was slightly put off that he was still human surrounded by hundreds of vampires but that only made him try harder. I suppose he realized that if I did choose him that he'd have to be turned.

My chair was pulled out for me as I went to sit down. I smiled at Charlie hoping that it looked genuine and silently thanked Valkyrie as the meeting started.

"There's been word from Greece that the vampire community there is dwindling. They want permission to breed with other countries." A vampire with an Italian accent stated.

I nodded and he sat. "I don't think that we should let them." Another said. "Let them breed with the others in their country."

"They can't! There are too few female vampires." The debate continued until everyone had finally agreed on a verdict.

More events were announced and what seemed like hours later the meeting ended. Charlie started to walk towards me and I groaned slightly.

Marco, a vampire from Italy that I had recently become good friends with, smiled at me as Charlie approached us. "Excuse me. I was wondering if I could talk to you for a moment." I nodded and he looked up at the redhead. "Alone."

"I'll be waiting for you in the Dining Hall." Charlie said, eyeing the dark haired Italian suspiciously. He turned and left the Meeting Room (cleverly named rooms, aren't they).

I turned to Marco expectantly. Silence fell around us and I prompted, "There was something you wanted to talk to me about?"

He laughed, his green eyes shining with mirth. "Not particularly. It just seemed like you needed to get away from Hot Head for a while." He smiled. "Is anything new going on? I feel as if I haven't seen you in forever."

"That's because you've been in Egypt for the past week." I pointed out.

"Aha!" He exclaimed suddenly right as I was about to ask him how it was in Africa. "Thank you for reminding me." I waited for him to explain but it seemed as if he had a thing for keeping me hanging today.

"Reminding you about what?" I asked in a desperate attempt to get him to continue on with his statement.

Green eyes started down at me with countless decades behind them. "Reminding me that I got a souvenir for Terrell." Terrell was his 'life partner' as he liked to say. They made an extremely cute couple and were rarely seen without each other.

I stared at him, dumbstruck. "And how exactly did I remind you of that?" He said nothing as he strolled out of the room. I looked around the empty room and quickly followed suit.

--

Instead of heading down to the Dining Hall for lunch I went silently through the empty halls to my bedroom. Or should I say house. My room had everything imaginable in them. There was a bathroom attached, a large walk-in closet, a study with loads of books and a large writing desk, my actual _bed_room, and the main room that you walked into. Really, it was multiple rooms that took up nearly half of the top floor.

I collapsed onto the couch in the main room and let out a sigh of relief. Finally some time all to my-"Hermione?" Draco's voice floated into the room. "Are you up here?"

Praying hard to Valkyrie and the other former leaders I stepped into the shadows and could feel myself blending into my surroundings. The door flung open and the blond stepped in. "Where could she be?" I heard him mutter as he checked all the rooms.

A breeze coming from my open window stirred the air and ruffled the blond hair, carrying the scent of his pumping blood. I bit my lip as my two fangs protruded from my gums. If I had been smart I wouldn't have gone this long without feeding but I had been running out of time this evening and had just made it down to the meeting in time.

As soon as Draco had left and I was sure he was down a few levels I shot out of my room and down four flights of stairs to the basement. Without knocking I burst into Sev's potions lap and threw open the cupboard. Running my fingers along the labels I searched for the artificial blood he made for emergencies. He had enough of it stored away, he wouldn't miss one bottle.

"What, pray tell, are you doing?" The voice came from the doorway. I straitened and turned to see Sev standing in the doorway. "Avoiding lunch, are we?"

"I can't take it anymore!" I yelled, "Draco and Charlie are there whenever I turn around. It's getting on my nerves!"

Sev's face was that of surprise and what seemed like regret as I finished my rant. "Is that it?" A voice came from the hallway behind Sev. "I'm just annoying you?" The dark man moved away from the entrance and Charlie slunk into sight.

"No, Charlie," I said reaching out towards him, my heart breaking at the look on his face, "that's not what I meant." He looked at me with teary blue eyes. "It's just too much sometimes. Everyone needs a little space, I'm no different."

"Well then, by all means, have your space." He said and walked away.

I wanted to go after him but me feet were rooted to the spot. All I could do was watch as Charlie turned the corner and disappeared from sight. A few moments later I heard a door slam shut. I turned slowly to Sev. He looked at me with sympathy in his dark eyes. "It's okay." He opened his arms and I immediately found myself wrapped in his embrace.

Sobs wracked my body. Disbelief stormed through my mind. What had I done? Sev stroked my hair as I cried into his heavy robes. His awkwardness was obvious but at the time I couldn't care less.

Suddenly I heard the front door to the manor open and bang shut. Tears streamed harder down my face and it felt as if grief were ripping holes in my heart. I pulled away from my father and ran as fast as I could up to my room, running Draco over in the process.

With my bedroom door shut tight with every locking spell I knew thrown carelessly at it, some hitting it some missing by a mile, I threw myself onto my bed and sobbed into my pillow. Eventually I drifted off into sleep.

--

Parisa was waiting to greet me in the hall but I didn't feel like talking. She looked at me and tried to speak but I silenced her with a sad look. Instead of talking she opened her arms and pulled me into a warm hug. "He's gone." I cried into her shoulder. "I can't believe he's gone."

"It's not as if he's died, Child." The former leader said to me. "You'll still be able to see him."

"He'll never want to see me again." I objected. "And even if I did know where he was I wouldn't be able to get away."

Parisa laughed and I couldn't help but feel a stab of anger at the tinkling sound. "Why Child, what do you think the others are doing as we speak? They're watching over him and waiting for him to rest so that they may visit him."

"Why would they want to visit him?" I asked, trying to stem the flow of tears.

"Because we can see the love shining so brightly through the two of you, even if you can't." She told me. "It burns with such a beautiful light that it shocked all of us. We've never seen two people so right for each other than the two of you."

She let me go and I slumped to the floor, emotionally exhausted. She sat down daintily and started whispering in different languages. When I asked her what she was doing she told me that she was praying to her people's goddess, Xuxa. Praying for wisdom, courage, and an open mind.

"It's time to wake up now, Child." I looked up what seemed like mere minutes later and saw Idonia standing by the doorway that I could never enter. "He's seen his mistake and he's on his way back to you."

--

I blinked the sleep from my eyes and stretched out my stiff limbs. Knocking resounded through the room and Draco called through the door, "Hermione, are you alright?" I chose not to answer him as I stared out my window at the rising moon, marveling at how long I had been asleep.

A rustling noise came from outside my bedroom door and what sounded like a one-sided argument. Finally someone audibly asked, "Hermione are you in there?"

I jumped to my feet and threw open the door, jumping into Charlie's arms. "You're back!" I cried. "I missed you so much!" Happiness expanded in my heart and I thanked Valkyrie, Silvestra, Talia, Parisa, Idonia, and Fiammetta for bringing him back to me.

"I missed you too." He mumbled into my hair. "So very much."

"What made you come back?" I asked, just then realizing that the former leaders had ever said anything about actually being successful at making contact with him.

"I figured no matter how much it hurt when I heard you say that," he looked down at me and I could see love shining brightly through his blue eyes, "it hurt even more to be away from you. So I'll stay as long as you'll have me." I could feel the love flowing from him, through me, and back to him.

Over his shoulder I saw Draco standing in the doorway. "I'm so sorry Draco." I started to say but he just sneered at me and walked away. I buried my face in the warmth of Charlie's shoulder as tears started free falling down my face.

--

A/N: What do you think? End it there? or continue for a few chapters? It's all up to you. Me? I'm pretty pleased with it and wouldn't mind ending it here. I've got a great idea for another story!

Yes, Charlie did win for anyone that couldn't figure that out. At the beginning of the story I wanted the twins to win, then Bill, then Charlie, then Draco for about a chapter but once I wrote this I was glad that Charlie won.


	15. Epilogue

A/N: Here's the epilogue. It makes me kind of sad, I hate ending stories! I DON'T OWN HARRY POTTER, but it's on my Christmas list.

--

It had been one hundred years since Charlie and I had bonded. One hundred years since I was put in charge of the vampire world. One hundred years since Charlie was instated as head of the vampire warriors. In that time we had had five children. They had each grown up and had gone off to different countries. Harry, Ron, Ginny, and all of my other friends had long died. Sometimes it got lonely and other times it seemed as though they were from a different lifetime, like something I had simply read about in a book.

Ruling the vampires had gotten tiring and one night as I fell asleep I sent a warning out to the former leaders. It had been something Charlie and I had been talking about for a long time and I had finally decided to act on. As I met them in the hallway they started bombarding me with questions.

"What are you thinking?" Rang above all the others and Idonia pushed to the front. In the past century she and I had become good friends. It was almost as if we had the same thought process at times. "Don't you like ruling? Don't you think of it as a great honor?"

I laughed. "Of course I do. That's why Charlie and I have decided it's time you found someone else to take over."

"But the former leader has to die first!" Talia shouted. "It's tradition!"

"Well, then maybe it's time that the tradition changed. I don't care what you say, I'm retiring. You have two weeks to find someone to take my spot."

I smiled as they went into a frenzy. "Two weeks? That's impossible! It's not nearly enough time."

--

"Hermione, it's time to wake up. You've got a meeting in ten minutes." Charlie's deep voice murmured in my ear.

Sitting up I stretched out my stiff limbs. "I talked to Idonia and the others." I told him. "About retiring, I mean."

"And…?"

"They freaked." I laughed. "But I told them that there wasn't anything they could do to stop me and that they had two weeks to find my replacement." I stood from bed and moved gracefully to my closet to get dressed.

"Two weeks? Don't you think that's a little harsh?" He asked as I shooed him from my large closed so that I could change. "I mean, it took them a few months to get you ready to take over, didn't it?"

Dressed I walked out of my closet and grabbed my wand. "I guess, but I just can't wait to move back to England. It seems as if I haven't seen Sev in decades."

Charlie laughed. "He was just here last year for your birthday."

"But that was so long ago!" I complained as I checked the time. "Ugh, I've got to run. I'll see you in a bit." I kissed him on the cheek and ran out of our bedroom and down to the Meeting Room.

--

"Is it true?" A member of the court asked after the meeting. "Are you really resigning?"

I nodded and everyone started talking at once. I raised my hand and they all quieted, turning to me. "It's not as if I'm leaving for good."

"You mean you're just taking a vacation?" Someone on the other side of the room asked and I giggled.

"No, I mean I'll still come back and visit you guys. It's just that I think I've been here long enough." I smiled.

--

Two weeks passed and a timid young vampire stepped into the building. "Are you…?" Her voice trailed off as she stared up at me with gleaming silver eyes. I nodded. "So I really am in charge now?" I nodded again. Her cheeks colored. "I don't think I'm ready."

"Don't worry." I told her. "Valkyrie and the others will help you through it. I know they helped me a lot when I first started leading." I smiled at her. "May the former leaders be with you, Faye Marino. We will meet again."

"What am I supposed to say?" She asked. "The former leaders told me that there is no tradition for this."

I laughed. "They're right. I suppose I just like to do things my way." With a flick of my wand all of my suitcases lined up behind me. "Good luck. I'll be back to check in now and again. Bye!"

She waved as I met Charlie and Joseph outside of the wards. Suddenly we were encased in a gold mist and when it faded away we were standing in the middle of Sev's home. Joseph winked as he left and I took in a good lungful of air before yelling, "SEV!! I'M HOME!!!"

A clang from the lower level of the house told me that the dark man had heard me. Heavy footsteps rushed up the stairs and soon I was standing face to face with my father. "What's wrong? Why are you here? Is there an emergency? Are you pregnant again?" He asked, looking me over from head to foot before glaring at Charlie. "What did you do to her?"

Charlie sputtered nonsense as his face turned red. I chuckled. "He didn't do anything to me, Sev. I resigned from my position and now we're here to stay."

"Oh no you're not." He said right away. "I made sure that Charlie's flat was kept in livable conditions."

"But how did you know I'd resign?" I asked. "No one's ever done it before."

"I know you Hermione," He said, pointing a finger at me in mock anger, "always going around breaking the rules." A smile broke across his face and he opened his arms wide. "But it's good to know that you'll be closer to home now."

--

A/n: I know, I really suck at the whole epilogue concept but I hope that's a better ending for all of you. THANK YOU TO ALL OF MY REVIEWERS. YOU GUYS MADE MY LIFE!! I'm not even kidding, I've got enough happiness to last me at least a few years.


	16. Alternate Ending Part 1

A/N: So here's the alternative ending because someone wanted me to write one where Draco and Hermione ended up together! Sorry it took so long!!

--

I sighed as I climbed up onto the large roof of my new place of residence. It was always calming to be away from everyone, especially Charlie who had made it his job to make sure that I had everything that I wanted and was never had to do anything for myself.

A noise from behind me startled me. Draco froze, an apologetic look on his face. "Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you." He said as he took a step back.

"Don't worry about it." I told him, sitting down and looking out at the coastline.

"Are you okay?" He asked, taking a seat next to me. "You seem tense."

"I am tense." I growled, falling back to look up at the cloudless night sky. "Charlie won't leave me alone! Everywhere I turn he's waiting to do something for me!" Draco nodded silently. "And you're not much better when I see you." I said before I could stop myself.

Draco's face fell noticeably. "Maybe I should just make your choice easier." He stood and started for his window.

"No!" I raced towards him and grabbed his arm. He turned his head and I saw hurt shining in his icy blue eyes. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to say that. It's just that this past week has been so stressful and choosing a husband on top of that just made it worse." I could feel tears building up behind my eyes and lowered my head to hide it.

Toned arms wrapped around my shoulders and I sagged against Draco's well muscled torso. He whispered soothing words into my mass of silvery hair until a voice calling for me shot out into the night. "I should go." I mumbled into Draco's shirt. "And you should get some sleep. It must be at least midnight."

He shrugged. "I'm used to being up at night now." The voice pierced the near silence again. "Go ahead." He pushed me lightly towards my window. "I'll see you in the morning."

"I don't know if I'll still be awake by then." I groaned and descended down the side of the building to get back into my room.

Marco was standing at my open doorway looking into my room as I swung through my window. He jumped back slightly when he heard me land with a slight thud. "Where did you…" He seemed to rethink his question. "Never mind that, where have you been?"

"Thinking." I said, leaving the room with him trailing behind me. "Why?"

"There's an emergency. Someone was brought in fatally wounded and we can't tell who she is. People are wondering if we should turn her so we may keep her alive." I nodded and he led me to where she was being kept.

--

Lying in a bed was the thin frame of a woman in her mid to late thirties. Long platinum blond surrounded her pale scarred face. Long black lashes dusted her cheeks and her chest rose ever so slightly with every shallow breath.

Even through the heavy scarring and mangling that had happened to the woman's face it was easy for me to recognize her. It was Draco's mother, Narcissa Malfoy.

--

"Mother?" Draco asked the woman on the bed as I watched from across the room. "Are you okay?" There didn't seem to be any fear or sadness in his voice but perhaps it just hadn't hit him yet.

The blond woman cracked her eyes open and stared up at her son. "My son," She started to say but Draco interrupted her. "Go to Hell." He hissed and spit in her face before storming out of the room.

I took one last look at the Malfoy matriarch and followed Draco down the hallway. "Are you alright?" I asked as I finally caught up with him.

He sneered at me. "I can't believe that bitch had the nerve to come and find me."

"You don't know that-"

"Yes I do." He cut in, holding up a piece of parchment. "It wasn't pure coincidence that landed her here all the way from London. Look what she was holding in her hand."

I stared at the piece of parchment that he had shoved into my hands. The only thing that adorned it was a simple eye drawn on one side. I looked up at Draco in confusion. "What does this have to do with anything?"

"It's a message to me. She's trying to warn me that the Dark Lord is watching me." I opened my mouth. "And it's more like a threat from the Big Bad Wolf himself." He said before I could make a sound.

"How would you know the Big Bad Wolf?" I asked.

"What do you mean?" He looked at me like I was crazy. "It's a popular wizard fairytale…how do you know him?"

I shook my head and changed the subject. "Doesn't matter. What do you think we should do with your mother?"

"As far as I'm concerned she's no better than a common street whore." He growled and stormed off, this time I didn't follow him.

--

My eyes were glued to Draco as everyone else watched while Narcissa Malfoy was prepped for her execution. His face was that of pure hatred and I couldn't wrap my mind around how he could possibly hate his own mother. I know that I would do _anything_ for Sev and I had detested him most of my school years.

Before I knew it Mrs. Malfoy was dead and vampires flocked to her body to feed. I gagged in disgust and turned away from the sight in time to see Draco leaving the room and Charlie glaring at the door in contempt. I sighed inwardly and pushed past him to find Draco.

--

A/n: I know it's short but there will be another chapter to this alternative ending. Hope you liked it all you Draco fans!!


	17. Alternate Ending Part 2

A/N: Here it is. The very last chapter of Dark Nights. I know, it's sad, but I'm starting a new story that should be up soon…ish. I'll update here again when I get it up and you can check out my profile to find it. I already have the first chapter written but I like to have some chapters written in advance just incase writers block strikes. Sorry this took so long to put up, the holidays were hectic around here! Enough rambling, here's the story!

--

"I still don't get why you're spending so much time with him!" Charlie yelled from a few stairs below me. I rolled my eyes and ascended up to the fourth floor quickly, leaving the redhead behind. Unfortunately he caught up to me when I came upon Draco's bedroom door and found that it was locked. "I barely get to see you anymore."

I whirled around to face the former dragon tamer. "Don't you think there's a reason for that?" I damn near yelled in his face. "Have you ever thought maybe I don't want to see you for a while?" I let my temper get the better of me and only stopped when I saw the hurt on his freckled face. "Charlie, I'm sorry." I said weakly as he turned and flew down the stairs back to the ground floor.

When he was out of sight I hurled my fist into the nearest wall, punching a hole right through it. Draco's door was flung open and the blond saw me leaning against the wall with tears running down my face. He pulled me to my feet and I collapsed into his arms.

--

"Are you sure you're okay?" Draco asked at least half an hour later when I had finally stopped crying. I shook my head. "Is there something I could do for you?" I looked up and noticed that Draco's face was mere inches from mine.

Instincts cut in and I wrapped my arms around his neck. The pale boy tensed until our lips finally met. Distant voices brought me back to reality and I pulled away. We looked at each other for a moment, color dotting Draco's cheeks as my own face warmed.

"Well," Draco said after a moment, "I don't know about you but that cleared up a lot of things."

"Yeah." I breathed. He kissed me softly and I smiled at him. "So what do we do now?"

"I say we go with the flow. Roll with the punches." He pulled away gently.

"It would probably be in your best interest if Charlie didn't find out about this." I told him.

"Find out about what?" A voice from the door asked. How had we been caught? Charlie had stormed away after I had yelled at him. I let out a sigh of relief when I found it was only Marco standing at the door. "What's going on that Charlie can't know?"

Draco looked from me to the dark haired vampire from Italy. "Nothing, you'll find out eventually."

--

The week wore on and Draco and I continued to see each other while other vampires slept. My schedule became hectic with little time to sleep. By the next weekend I started to pull away from everyone, including Draco. He didn't object only let me know that he'd be there if I wanted to talk. I was thankful and shut myself in my bedroom for a while.

--

When I finally came out of my room close to 27 hours later I stumbled down to the kitchen and grumbled a hello to the two vampires sitting at the table.

Full and in a better mood I made the trek up to Draco's room. Charlie tried to stop me somewhere around the second floor but I brushed right past him. "What's your problem?" He asked, following me closely.

"You." I whirled on him. "In case you didn't catch the hint, I'm not choosing you so stop trying and go back to being my friend." Charlie jerked backwards and almost fell down the staircase. "Please." I added softly and ran the rest of the way to Draco's room.

--

The end of the week came and I looked out at the vampires and Halflings gathered in the Meeting Room. Draco smiled at me from near the back of the room and I gave a shaky smile back.

"If I could have your attention," I called over the dull roar after the last few vampires trickled in through the large oak double doors, "I'd like to announce…" My breath caught in my throat. Hundreds upon hundreds of eyes stared up at me. "To announce…" I repeated.

"Who you're going to marry." Marco supplied for me, sitting in the lap of his life partner, Terrell.

I nodded solemnly. "Right." Out in the crowd two sets of eyes stared at me expectantly. One icy blue and soft, the other ocean blue and hard. The butterflies that had taken home in my stomach laid eggs which hatched, made cocoons, became butterflies, then started the process all over again. I took a deep breath and swallowed, trying to moisten my mouth. "Would…would…" Draco nodded encouragingly from the back of the room. "Would Draco Malfoy please come up to the stage?"

An angry, "I knew it!" came from the crowd and I looked sadly at Charlie. "That's it! I don't have to be here. I don't deserve this." He stormed out of the room, a sight that damn near broke my heart. No matter how much I loved Draco I still didn't want to lose the redhead as a friend.

Draco was next to me with a hand on my shoulder when I finally tore my eyes away from the doors. "It's okay." He whispered. "He'll come back eventually. I'm sure of it."

"So when are you going to change him?" Another voice called out from the crowd. When I found its source I recognized the strong vampire as a member of the army. "We need a new leader soon or we could be overrun by the werewolves and wizards."

I looked at Draco. "Tonight." I said shakily. "Right now I find myself in need of sleep. This meeting is over."

My stomach wouldn't settle and as soon as the last few vampires left the room I leaned into Draco. He stroked my hair and told me that I did fine and Charlie wouldn't hate me as soon as he pulled his red head out of his arse. I let out a small laugh at that comment and Draco pulled away. "Are you okay?" I nodded and he pressed his lips against mine in a gentle kiss.

--

It had been 13 hours since I had changed Draco and he was still sleeping off the affects. I pulled myself into a corner and rested my chin on my knees. If you had asked me two days ago I would have told you that I was positive that I was doing the right thing. Now I wasn't so sure.

I knew that I loved Draco but I was still only a teenager and had no idea what I was doing. Whatever Draco and I had could be over in a couple months or less and then what would we do? I had asked the former leaders about it and they told me that it was permanent, though they thought I was being hypothetical.

--

When my mind finally came to a rest I had come to the decision that I would stay the leader as long as Draco and I were together. As soon as we stopped loving each other or lusting after each other or whatever this was we would retire and go our separate ways.

Deep down I hoped that this would last longer than a few months and that what we had was true but my mind kept reprimanding that part of me and telling it that it wasn't logical.

While the two sides of me were arguing Draco woke up and came to stand in front of me. I looked up at him but couldn't focus until he pulled me up and kissed me softly.

He hadn't changed much. His platinum blond hair had stayed the same as well as his pale skin and lean stature. The only thing that seemed to be different was that his icy blue eyes glinted silver. I smiled up at him and explained the plan.

More or less he agreed, even though he claimed he'd try his hardest so that he wouldn't have to feel guilty about ruining my chances at ruling an entire species. I laughed softly and told him that love wasn't about trying and that if it fell apart that it was okay. I had found I wasn't the best at ruling and making decisions for other people.

With a bright outlook and hope in our hearts we set off to start our life.

--

A/n: I hope that was a good alternate ending for all of you Draco fans! Again I'm sorry that it took so long for me to post but writer's block is hell and the holidays were hectic. Thank you for reading my story!!


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